Plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to stop the Trump administration from building a triumphal arch in Memorial Circle asked a federal judge today (Thursday) to halt all construction plans, one day after the National Park Service signaled it would begin work Nov. 5.
The plaintiffs, three veterans and a retired architectural historian, asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to prohibit the administration and NPS “from taking any steps to construct, or to direct or facilitate construction of, any structure in Memorial Circle, absent congressional authorization, during the pendency of this litigation.”
NPS and the executive office of the president filed a notice yesterday (Wednesday) in the lawsuit saying they planned to possibly begin construction as early as Nov. 5, pending the approval of the construction by the National Capital Planning Commission. The commission is scheduled to meet that day to consider final approval of the site and building plans.
The government’s notice said construction could begin once that approval was finished, the Interior Department issued a final decision authorizing construction and the proper notification was published. “NPS may publish such notice as early as November 5, 2026, and construction could commence as early as November 5, 2026,” the notice said.
The arch has been one of Trump’s pet projects, one that he said might also include national security functions such as drones and snipers. Plans submitted to the NCPC by the Interior Department don’t include mention of the “military complex” he has said it would host, although the agency said the plan could accommodate such a feature. The structure is planned to be 250 feet tall.
Memorial Circle sits on federal parkland at the Virginia end of Memorial Bridge, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The plaintiffs’ filing today said the notification “makes clear that the defendants have no intention of awaiting this court’s decision on the cross-motions for summary judgment and have every intention of imminently beginning construction of the arch on Memorial Circle.”
Chutkan had previously ordered the administration to give the court 48 hours’ notice before undertaking any activities related to or in preparation for construction.
Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by President Donald Trump, the plaintiffs sued in federal court in D.C., saying the project needs to be approved by Congress.
The Public Citizen Litigation Group, which is one of the legal groups representing the plaintiffs, cited several projects being pursued by the administration that had moved forward with work despite pending lawsuits.
Chutkan ordered the two sides to meet and file a briefing schedule by noon tomorrow (Friday).
The arch is one of several projects around Washington that Trump has undertaken as he remakes the city, from renovating the East Potomac golf course to threatening to demolish the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Just this week, plaintiffs in the East Potomac Park case argued in a five-hour hearing that Trump had made clear that construction plans were forthcoming, despite the pending litigation.
The lawsuit in federal court in D.C. is one of two challenging construction of the arch. The Arlington County Board filed a lawsuit earlier this month opposing the construction of the arch, becoming the first governmental body to take legal action against the planned monument.
That lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, criticized the speed at which the project slated for Memorial Circle has moved without going through the full review process.
The administration disputed that claim.
“The Arlington County Board has filed this lawsuit because our community has the most to lose from this egregious and unlawful proposed project,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti (D) said in a statement at the time.
County planning staff flagged a long list of concerns about the project this summer, including crowded sidewalks around the traffic circle, unstudied traffic effects on the GW Parkway and Richmond Highway, possible conflicts with flights at Reagan National Airport and damage to historic views tied to Arlington National Cemetery.
